Ladies and gentlemen, welcome your new #1 seed in the AFC. Of course, there's a chance the New England Patriots will fall back in the rankings later in Week 11, but they are at least temporarily in first place in the conference after win over New York Jets 27-14 Thursday Night Football.
For the Patriots, this ensures they head into their mini-bye in a comfortable position. Unlike their one-win rivals, they've already gotten the job done and put the ball in their own court: While the Indianapolis Colts will finish the week behind New England given they have a bye, the Denver Broncos will need to beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday to even out their overall record at 9-2 and take the lead again based on their superior conference record.
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That's not a given, of course, meaning there's a realistic prospect that the top of the AFC playoffs will remain unchanged after this weekend.
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New England Patriots (9-2)
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Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4)
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Los Angeles Chargers (7-3)
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Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4)
On the bubble: 8. Kansas City Chiefs (5-4), 9. Houston Texans (4-5), 10. Baltimore Ravens (4-5).
Technically not eliminated, but let's be honest: 11. Cincinnati Bengals (3-6), 12. Miami Dolphins (3-7), 13. Las Vegas Raiders (2-7), 14. Cleveland Browns (2-7), 15. New York Jets (2-8), 16. Tennessee Titans (1-8)
The Patriots' win over the Jets puts pressure on not only Indianapolis and Denver, but also the Buffalo Bills. The team's closest competition among AFC East rivals is the Bills, who entered Week 11 a game and a half behind New England in the standings. To keep up, they'll have to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-3 on Sunday afternoon.
